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`T. B. SHARP au P. BILLING. MACHINE EUR MANUFACTURING METAL TUBES.

Patented Apr. 26, 1898.

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WITNESSES DLQ/ ' UNITED STATES PATENT rires,

THOMAS BUDWORTH SHARP AND FREDERICK BILLING, OF BlRMlNGHAM, ENGLAND.

MACHINE FOR MANUFACTURING METAL TUBES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 602,878, dated April 26, 1898.

Application filed June Z3, 1897. Serial No. 641,910. (No model.) Patented in England May 31, 1897, No. 13,386.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that we, THOMAS BUDWORTH SHARP, engineer,of County Chambers A, Martineau street, and FREDERICK BILLING, inanufacturer, of Livery street, Birmingham, in the county of Varwick, England, subjects of the Queen of Great Britain, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Manufacture of Steel and other Metal Tubes and in the Apparatus or Machinery for the Same,of which the following is a specification. This invention has been patented in England under date of May 31, 1897, No. 18,386.

Our invention has for its object improvements in the manufacture of steel and other metal tu bes and in the apparatus or machinery for the same, and is intended to cheapen the said manufacture and facilitate the more rapid production 0E tubes, especially in regard to the earlier stages in their production from the billets. W'e effect this object by treating the billet while in a hot or plastic state. We treat these billets to produce the hollow shell by a gradually-applied pressure by our special apparatus or machinery which we are about to explain by reference to the accompanying drawings, Which'are given as examples of the mode we pursue in the said manufacture and from which, as an example, others will have no difiiculty in applying our invention to general practice and in the sub-.

stitution of various mechanical members for those shown to produce the required eect, as herein set forth.

Figure 1 is a part sectional plan view of our improved apparatus or machinery for manu-` facturing steel and other metal tubes. Fig. 2 is a similar view to Fig. 1, showing only a portion of the apparatus with the billet B advanced or in progress. Fig. 3 is an end view of Fig. 1, showing the back-stop arrangement. Fig. 4 is an end view of the billet-cylinder.

In carrying our invention into practice we form the stron g hollow cylinder A, preferably made of steel provided with the lugs a and a2, which we call the billet-cylinder, and is preferably, though not necessarily, a little larger at the end where the pointer or piercer P is situated, with a gradual taper from end to end, so as to lessen the friction as the billet B advances. This pointer or piercer may be arranged so as to be only a short distance from the open end a3 of the billet-cylinder and is formed from a strong round steel rod, pointed at the end p' and somewhat longer than the heated billet B, which lits into the billet-cylinder. The opposite end p2 of the pointer or piercer is thinned down and is provided with the hole p3 for the purpose of withdrawing it when required. The shoulders p4 butt against the movable stop C, which fits into the recess formed in the back portion D 0f our apparatus. To keep this piercer in position, we place it inside the guid ing-cylin der E, the internal diameter being preferably larger than the internal diameter of the billet.- cylinder, but about the same internal diameter as the tube which it is intended to make and is provided with the lugs e and e2. Fitted inside this guiding-cylinder are the two loose disks or Washers e3 and e4, (but it must be understood we may have only one'or more than two of these disks or washers,) placed at either end of the guiding-cylinder. Fitted between the guiding-cylinder and the billet-cylinder is the renewable filling-in piece F,which can be replaced when worn, as the whole of the strain takes place at this part when the billet is being forced onto the piercer. The steel rods H and I-I are provided for holding the parts together and pass through holes formed in the lugs o. and a2 and e and e2 and also through the holes formed in the lugs f of the lling-in piece, the distance-pieces h' and h2 being provided so as to keep the back portion and the guiding-cylinder the required distance apart. Nhen the piercer and the heated billet are in the position as shown at Fig. 1, the ram R, preferably driven by hydraulic power, forces the billet onto andover the piercer and thus forms it into a tube, the loose disks or Washers being forced along the piercer as the billet advances, as clearly shown at Fig. 2. The hollow steel pusher J, which is placed inside the billet-cylinder' and between the billet and the ram, is provided so as to allow the point of the piercer to enter after the billet has been pushed over the piercer and formed into a tube. The distance-pieces K and K are arranged between the lugs on the end of the billet-cylinder and the hydraulic cylinder. The ram may only ICO be operated so as to force the billet partly onto the piercer-that is to say, we form a tube with one end closed after the manner of a thimble or test-tube. The tube, whether it has one end closed or both ends open, is then taken out of the guiding-cylinder and oii the piercer to be further manipulated in any desired manner.

We may, if we prefer, have a small hole formed up the center of the billet before it is put through the operation just described, and we may also, if we prefer, pass the newlyformed tube through two or more sets of our new apparatus, of course suitably altering the dimensions of the apparatus.

Instead of using billets of steel it will be quite evident that we may use any other metal or alloy which is of a sufficiently ductile nature While hot and which will stand the strains to which the process subjects it.

When desired, we may form the pointed end of the piercer detachable, or it may be formed from a pointed bulb and fitted with any ready means of attachment.

It will be quite evident that the two cylinders and the piercer may be made to advance instead of remaining stationary and the ram remain stationary, or the ram and the cylinders and the piercer may all be movable. It will also be understood that instead of circular billets in circular cylinders being made into circular tubes we may deal with billets of a square, oval, hexagonal, or other section, and we may somewhat vary the relative shapes of the sections of the billet while transforming it into a tube.

The billet and guiding cylinders may each be formed in two parts longitudinally and held together in any desirable manner for convenience when inserting or extracting the billet or tube.

What we claim, then, is-

In combination the die adapted to receive the blank, the removable end piece therefor, the guiding-cylinder, means for holding said parts together, the washers within the cylinder, the pointed piercer supported centrally of the cylinder by said washers, means for holding the piercer against longitudinal movement, and means for moving the blank against the point of the piercer, substantially as described.

In testimony thatwe claim the foregoing as our own we affix our names.

THOMAS BUDWORTH SHARP. FREDERICK BILLING.

In presence of- E. S. FRIEND, GEORGE LESTER. 

